Reply to IEP for a gifted child?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How come the people who are clamoring for IEPs for the gifted are dumb as rocks?[/quote]

I think at least one poster here (and probably more than one) actually does have a G&T kid with a disability.  And, they aren't as dumb as the asshole posters here who don't know what G&T is, who don't even know what the DCPS budget figures are.

DCPS has way more than enough money to put together a decent G&T program, if they weren't mismanaging it - they have more money per student than just about any school district in the nation.  But it seems the system is full of slugs who resist any kind of change and who throw any and every lame, bogus, harebrained and dumb excuse in the way of progress that they can come up with.

It's no wonder DCPS is losing the battle, with attitudes like yours.[/quote]

if you want anything close and to be in a school, go to BASIS.  My child is in 7th grade and one of four (8 altogether) in 7th taking pre-calculus.  They are so small and flexible right now they might move your child up as much as possible.  My child has a genius IQ, and while much at BASIS bores the heck out of the child, being with at least two other kids who are gifted (one of whom has Aspergers or something or other) has been a breath of fresh air.  My brother has a genius IQ, and spent his years at St. Alban's bored to tears.  Finally, in 7th grade, he discovered chess and my mom took him all over the country for tournaments against middle aged men.

Harvard, OTOH, was a great experience for him because every professor recognized his potential immediately and wanted him for their own.  Just to say, private schools also stink for truly gifted students, and they are tormented by the jocks etc.  At BASIS there are no jocks, the ONLY recognition institutionalized is for grades.  STA used to have "the book" for one kid in each form who got the highest GPA.  Did not save my brother from being tormented by the jocks, and meant absolutely nothing to him after a while.  What meant the most was a 6th grade teacher voluntarily staying after school to teach him logic.  But you cannot count on those kinds of miracles happening, anywhere.

I would be completely incapable of homeschooling my child. BASIS is the best alternative, and had it not miraculously appeared last year we would be at our wits end, honestly.  It does not do what my alma mater did, a private school here, which put young kids in the most advanced classes they had and then just sent them off to college early, which was not successful in all cases.  But at BASIS you can be done by 11th grade, having done a ton of AP classes, including differential equations (whatever they are), and go intern somewhere where hopefully the adults will recognise your potential and like at Harvard, want to convince you to go into their field, so extra attention is a given while going to college young is not recommended.  And whatever organization you are at, choose carefully, because they might be willing to pay your way through college.  A company did that for my husband, who may also be a genius.

I know I am not, and because of my brother, I have known that for a long time.  But I was bound and determined to marry someone smart, and at least two of our kids would be at least 140+.  Our oldest at BASIS got tested (long irrelevant story) by the ES and when I walked into the meeting the first thing I said was I do not want to know the IQ score.  In the end they are just numbers, but these kids have tremendous potential and you do not want to see them crushed or discouraged before they begin to cure cancer, or whatever their calling is.  THAT is important.

Private school is overrated.  I would recommend BASIS DC over anything except home schooling, if you are capable of it.  The teachers are always willing to push farther and deeper than is required by the course during office hours, and they really appreciate kids who have a genuine interest and intellectual curiosity.  Again, being smart is cool at BASIS DC.  I doubt that is really true anywhere else, because it is the only way to be cool there.  When I introduced myself at the school in the bathroom as so and so's mother, that was the first comment "wow, s/he is so smart."  I already knew this, but the admiration in their voices really warmed my heart and reassured me that finally we had found the right place for the oldest two of our kids.  The value of others valuing you for who you really are, at a school that recognises the innate value of your intelligence plus your willingness to do a lot of shitwork, that in every awards ceremony after every grading period (parents are welcome and do attend) recognise you and publicly acknowledge that in front of your peers and their parents, is worth a lot.

Yes, these kids will find their own road map, my brother found chess and philosophy on his own, but if you want them in school, BASIS DC is the only way I know of to go.  CTY is kind of a waste, although my brother did make some friends in the DC area to play chess with.  I would also recommend heavy use of the library, and www.savegreatcourses.com, where until Feb 27th every single one is on deep discount.

Finally, be really careful of what your kid is doing on the internet.  It may be dangerous, it may be illegal, but the point is these kids are lonely and vulnerable in a way no one can really recognise.  What happens when you realize you are smarter than your parents?  It all depends on how they handle it.  They still have life experience you do not and wisdom gained therefrom that you could learn from.  But I hear you and you are not alone.  Fortunately I have my brother, who has given my second child a book on chess endgames that he recently used to defeat his instructor, and whose articles and exchanges my oldest can read via my facebook page.  He understands what they are going through.[/quote]

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